"Lovely"

Part Ten (Diana) & Part Ten and a Half (Harry)

Part Ten: Diana

“He’s not lying!” Harry snapped, “And your grandson tried to run him over with a car for god’s sake!”

While it was true that Liam had done several…questionable things, he would never deliberately try to kill someone. At least I was pretty sure he wouldn’t.

The whole idea of that reminded me of two summers ago, when Liam had gone to court on a sexual assault charge. It was the same sort of story, some ridiculous claim that Liam had supposedly “forced intercourse” on another student at his school. The student, her name was Charlotte or something like that. She wanted it though, it was obvious. She always walked around in those short little skirts, with her cleavage hanging out and about. I suppose she only charged Liam because she was angry. She wanted him to date her afterward. As if sex implied a relationship. No, Liam was experimenting. He needed to see if he liked it…rough. It certainly wasn’t Liam’s fault that she didn’t understand his intentions; and she certainly had no right to be taking offense to his actions.

The fact that Harry even suggested that Liam had hit that Louis boy repulsed me. Liam straightened himself out. I’m not saying that he didn’t do it, he probably did. But Liam has so much going for him right now. Scholarships and such. He certainly didn’t need that…homoerotic idiot putting his future in jeopardy.

It was then that I knew I had to get rid of Harry. That Louis boy had been causing trouble ever since he got here, with everyone. I’d heard things about him, about his family. He seduced Harry. Harry. I mean, yes, the Styles family are not exactly the most popular people in town, and most of us question their parenting methods; but Harry is straight. Heterosexual. Into girls.

Louis had crossed a line; and in doing so he forced Harry to cross a line. Hell, you could feel the sexual tension between the two of them. It wasn’t natural.

Harry had to go.

“Harry,” I state directly, my voice barely audible, “don’t come back here until you’ve straightened yourself out.”

I had had to back away from Harry a bit when I spoke, but I knew he heard me. I also knew that losing this job would destroy him, but what could I do? I had to protect Liam, he’s all I’ve got. If Harry is around, then it means that that Louis boy will be around as well; and if what Harry claims happened actually happened, then Louis’ presence will only anger Liam.

Harry is silent for a moment, gluing his eyes to the floor.

“Diana,” he stammers, fighting back tears, “I…I can’t change.”

“Yes you can, Harry.” I begin, showing him a bit of comfort. “You’re sick…mentally, that’s all. Running around with that boy is only going to make it worse.”

Harry’s gaze remains on the floor, and he runs his long fingers through his bushy curls.

“But…Louis is....he’s…”

“He’s influencing you Harry. Not in a good way; you need to keep him away from you, and then you’ll both be better off.”

Once he’s composed himself, Harry looks me straight in the eye, backing away from me.

“You’re wrong.” He states firmly. “Unlike yourself, I care about Louis. He’s…he’s different.”

“Harry-“I start, trying to force him to see reason.

He’s not having it, though. With a raise of his hand, he stops my words.

“Don’t talk about him like that. It’s rude.”

He gives me a nod, twisting his hand around the door knob and pulling the door open.

“Goodbye Diana.”

He slams the office door, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I’ve just put Harry’s family on the street.

Part Ten and a Half: Harry

“Harry, what’s going on?” Louis calls, “Harry?”

Following my run in with Diana, I had grabbed Louis’ hand and pulled him from the bakery. I hadn’t said two words to him in the few minutes we’d been walking, but I should’ve. He deserved to know what was going on.

Despite my anger, I felt a subconscious need to be pleasant to Lou. I want him to like me, and I know that lashing out at him won’t help that matter. I need to be nice to him, he needs to be in a good mood. He’s had a long day, gotten some awful news. I know that the next few weeks are going to be tough for him, so he’s going to need someone.

Me.

He could need me.

A large part of my better judgement actually wants him to need me. I want to be who he comes to when he’s upset or flustered, and who he wants to spend time with. I want to be the reason that his radiant blur orbs sparkle the way they do. Even now, whilst being dragged down the street by myself, I know that his eyes probably hold that familiar sparkle of understanding that I had quickly grown accustomed to.

Louis understands me. He knows what I’m going through on an emotional front, whereas no one else does. Not even my parents. I had told Louis and only Louis about my true orientation; I trust him. Louis has had a rough run, and yet he’s still so innocent. He’s never had a boyfriend, never been able to truly act on his feelings. The very thought of exploring those emotions with him made my stomach do gymnastics.

Olympic gymnastics.

“Harry?” Louis cooed, slowing down my walking until we’ve stopped completely. “Harry what’s wrong? What did Diana say to you?”

When I don’t respond right away, his eyes flood with concern.

“Oh, goodness you’ve been sacked haven’t you? I’m so sorry Harry, this is all my fault-I’ll…I’ll go and speak with Diana about it, maybe she’ll give you your job back. I’m so sorry Harry, you don’t even know…” he trails off.

I suppose I’ve zoned out. I’ve stopped paying attention to Louis. He knows that I have, and with that realization he backs away from me, leaving only our hands connected; his tiny fingers grasping onto my larger ones.

I know that he can feel my tension. I’m still angry, though Louis’ voice has begun to do its number on it. I’m slowly coming back, every moment that he stays giving me a tighter grasp on the calm I had left in me.

Finally he pulls me into him, his hands rubbing up and down my back in strokes.

“Come now, Harry.” He whispers, standing on his tip toes to reach my ear. “Please calm down.”

My chin rests on his shoulder, allowing him to soothe me. He holds onto me, the tips of his fingers rubbing circles into the tops of my shoulders. He lays his head near my ear, murmuring words meant only for me.

I have to admit he does a pretty good job of making me feel better. I like the way he feels when he does this. When he holds me.

He slowly pulls away as my muscles relax. I watch his actions intently; his cheeks darkening to a fire engine shade of red. He smiles at the ground for several moments before taking a deep breath and planting a kiss on my cheek.

It’s unexpected, but I have to admit that I love it.

“Just know that I’m here for you, Harry.” He sighs, rubbing his fingers over my bandaged knuckles. “I care about you, I need to know that you’re okay.”

Now it’s my turn to blush. Louis made my knees feel weak, and he made my hands shake and my thoughts scramble. He was perfect, and wonderful, and lovely.

But Diana didn’t seem to think so.

She was wrong, there was no way that Louis was bad for me. He wasn’t making anything worse, if anything he made me better.

But I’m sick. Mentally sick.

Maybe that really is the case. Maybe Diana’s right.

But if she is, and I really am sick; I don’t think I ever want to get better.